Passion with a Gun
by Aikou
Summary: CH 3 UP. Lost in the middle of the night, a car pulls up in front of him. A woman steps out, and with a smile, she says that she wants to know his secret. AU. Strange fic. Vincent focused. AerisxVincent.
1. Edward

**CH.I - EDWARD**

The nights here are usually like this. Alleyways always seem to hold mischief and mystery. I'd like to say that I know Midgar like the barrel of my gun, but cats are really the only streetwise beings in this place. I actually own a cat. Or you could say I know a cat that hangs around. Sleek, white with pink ears and watchful golden eyes. I named the cat Edward.

Edward is a girl.

I had no idea at the time that I named him... her. Some little girl with short brown hair and big brown eyes was petting away, "Pretty cat," she would say fondly, "Pretty, pretty cat."

It was much too early in the morning and I had to go to work and sulk over weaponry. "Alright, run along now, I have to feed him."

"Him?"

"Yes, _him_. Edward is my cat."

She giggles. I stare. "What's so funny?" I ask.

"It's not a _him_ cat. It's a _her_ cat," she giggles more, picking Edward up and nuzzling him.

I suppose I tried to attempt a more exasperated demeanor to cover my slight embarrassment. "Whatever, just... just give me my cat."

She obeys, raising him up above her head, but I was still too tall. I had to bend over and take him...her.. from the girl. She stops giggling, and I notice a copper reflection in her widened eyes. She says nothing more and runs away.

Whatever. I get that a lot.

I grumble away with my now-female cat. I grumble along to work. And I grumble along through the alleyways on my way home. Until now, where I stand at the corner of certain darkness and certain death. "That's just great." Because this morning I couldn't tell my cat was female, what else in my insignificant world could remind me of my being a failure?

A foretelling breeze rustles my hair. My hand slowly slides to grasp the firearm strapped to my waist. The presence rolls in slowly from certain darkness. It stops in front of me. The driver steps out of the dark vehicle, his shoulder length hair does not swish or sway with his movements; it remains smooth, and calm as his demeanor. His expression is cleverly hidden by sunglasses. He pulls open the back seat door and a figure steps out of the vehicle. The man supports her with an outstretched hand. She stands up straight, and approaches me as he shuts the door behind her. I sharply notice the black dot on his forehead. Must be Wutainese.

"Hello," she speaks.

I nod. She continues, "I've waited here for you."

She wears sunglasses as well, however, her expression isn't hidden by them. It lies within her unveiled smile, "You're a difficult man to find, Valentine."

"What do you want?"

Her pink lips remain smiling, "I want to know your secret."


	2. Orange

_**A/N:** Nah, didn't leave an author's note on the first chapter. But I guess for now and all the rest of the chapters, I say that this disclaimer stands for the rest of the story so here it goes: I don't own Square-Enix and I'm not selling this story to make money. I hope you enjoy all the chapters to come. I'm going to try to write a chapter a day, or maybe every two days (which will explain their relative shortness altogether). We'll see how that works. I haven't written in a while, so if you want to let me know about the horrendous quality or the bad Out of characterness (although keep in mind, this is rather AU)... please do! I love reviews... especially bad ones :) As for opinions on Vincent's POV, I think I'm headed towards a more observant maybe a little sarcastic Vincent, instead of a rather angsty and despairing Vincent. Who knows though, I may decide to throw some angst in there._

_That should conclude pretty much any other feedback I really I for the rest of the story. If there's anything really important, I'll post, but other than that, this may be the last time you'll have to hear from me. So Poof!_

**CH.II - ORANGE**

I wake up with sweat. Another visited me tonight. There's a ringing in my head. Or is it a screaming? It's been too long to forget. The sweat drips down the side of my face, down my neck, down my chest. I unwrap the bandana from my head and my hair falls forward across my face. I use it to wipe off the sweat. I raise my eyes towards the clock, where bright red numbers pierce my dark adjusted eyes.

It's 3:15 in the morning. And she wants to know my secret.

I get out of bed. I don't bother to fix it this time. I walk straight to my apartment window and open it. I jump onto the escape ladder, and climb up, up, up, past all the darkened windows and darkened stories. I swing over onto the roof top. Above this particular building, the ceiling of Sector Seven has a hole in it. Through it, I can see the stars clearly beyond the smoke and fog.

She says that she wants to know.

Edward joins me a few hours later. The hole of sky begins to change its colors for dawn. I pet Edward with my right hand. He... I mean _she_ looks up at me. I'd like to say with affection, but I wouldn't know. Instead, I'll say she looks up at me watchfully. It always seems like she's waiting for something to happen to me. Like I'm going to turn into a monster and eat her.

I suppose even cats know when you carry a secret.

Edward starts making weird noises. She's in a sort of ready-to-pounce position. I think she's hacking or coughing. I lean down towards her, "What's wrong with you?"

The strange animal behavior starts to unnerve me. Like she's going to turn into a monster and eat me. Is she sick or dying?

I lay down on the ground next to her and peer into her coughing mouth. Edward makes another gulping noise. Another hack. Suddenly a slimy wet wad of hair slaps me in the face. I sit up and wipe the saliva and God knows what else off my cheek. "Beautiful."

I hear a familiar giggle behind me. "It's you again, isn't it?"

The little girl skips along and sits beside a now-much-better Edward.

"Pretty cat, pretty cat," she pets away again, "coughed up a hairball, but now you feel better, don'tcha don'tcha?"

"How cute," I grumble, wiping the sticky residue on my hand on Edward's fur.

I stand up. Those big brown eyes stare at me again. "What do you want?"

"Have you thought about renaming your cat yet?"

"No," I growl.

"Why not?"

"Her name is _Edward_," I begin walking away.

"Okay fine! But I want your cat to meet _my_ cat!"

I stop and sigh. She continues, picking up Edward and running along to catch up to me. Her big brown eyes smile at me, "My cat's named Nanaki... What's your name, mister?"

I look back up at the ceiling to view the developing dawn. "Vincent."

"Well mister Vincent, my name is Yuffie!"

"Really."

She nods.

"I see."

She puts Edward down on the ground, and then points, "How'd you get _that?_"

She is pointing at my most physical and repulsive scar. My metallic arm. From the fingertips to just beyond my elbow, I'm made of metal, it seems. Or maybe I'm just artificial. Or maybe I'm just a monster. Maybe, just maybe, I'm the luckiest guy on earth.

"Freak accident," I say.

"It's creepy."

Thank you, I'm creepy.

She's a real charmer, I can tell.

I sigh again. "So," I say, "What kind of cat is your Nanaki? Tabby? Calico?"

"Orange."

"... I see. Does your cat cough up hairballs as well?"

"Yup! All cats do."

I walk towards the edge, "Go ahead and take her to meet your cat. I have to go to work."


	3. Magazine Life

**CH.III - MAGAZINE LIFE**

Oh hello there, ma'am! I see you've brought your two darling little children with you. Would you like to buy a magnum? How about you sir? An Artic Warefare Police sniper rifle perhaps? Even though it never snows in Sector Seven, I'm sure that the complimentary Artic Warfare coat will come in handy if you buy this gun...

No, I don't actually say anything. In fact, I sit in my shop and glare. At anything. It's probably not the best approach for customer service, but even the _We're Open_ sign has a hard time getting people to at least walk through the door. Let alone _realize_ that they've just walked into a Weapon's shop.

Oh, I do everything here. You name it. I sell, trade, lock, shock, barrel, sulk, repair... Anything but burgers. No, you cannot have fries and a shake with your Wutainese Hunting Bow.

Seriously. People actually do this.

Alright, I can understand the adolescents walking in, cracking up while they muster up an order that includes ketchup and chicken nuggets, minus the onions. But as for the few adults who are _not_ old enough to be suffering from Oldtimer's disease... Completely oblivious.

I sigh and head towards the stockroom. I admit, it's not such a terrible thing that I next to never have customers. Leaves me extra time during work to mark down which of my own personal weapons requires the latest upgrades. Unfortunately, however, because of the lack of customers, I rarely have the funds to follow through. So really, I spend my free time confirming the failure of my Weapon's shop.

I suppose it doesn't bother me too much. Besides these activities, I also have the weekly _SHINRAlife_, and _Midgar Trade_ magazines to flip through. Or the four by three inch mini-television I have sitting in the stockroom. I flip on the television. As usual, not much programming on, simply hours of commercials and infomercials and the SHINRA marketing channels.

Of course, lately, we can't market any of SHINRA's products without the endorsement of the World-Renown Red-Carpet-Walking, World-Peace-Advocating, and not to mention Painfully-and-Flawlessly Beautiful, Last Cetra of the Planet: Aeris Gainsborough. She's sure to be on the cover of _SHINRAlife_ and_ Midgar Trade_ again. She probably spends every day in a photo shoot to keep up with these magazines. She's the star of every centerfold, and most of the ads or special interviews. The world outside of my own can't get enough of this girl. Everything is known about her. And somehow, she manages to remain mysterious.

_**A/N:** Yes, I know, SHORT. And yes, "Oldtimer's" disease is actually the nickname for "Elsheimer's" but... for the many things I've already thrown in this story, I've decided that Elsheimer probably doesn't exist in the world of FFVII, so I'm trying sooo hard to be practical! Hope you enjoyed it of course._ The story title was also altered, slightly.


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